Musings and Photos about Life and Real Estate Development in Post-Industrial Brooklyn and New York City

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Today is Broken Angel's (First) Day in Court

Chris Wood, the son of Broken Angel's creator, sent out an email yesterday to update everyone on the state of the endangered Clinton Hill landmark. As it turns out, Broken Angel will be in court today for a hearing and owners are trying to raise money for what will likely be the very expensive task of bringing the building up to code and keeping away the wrecking ball. You might recall that after October's fire drew municipal attention to the building, the city ordered the building vacated, the NYPD took away the elderly creator in handcuffs and the city threatened demolition.

Here's the update from Mr. Wood:

My family is currently working with the architecture firm, Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture, to bring the building to code, however we are still being threatened with demolition by the DOB. On Wednesday 11/15/06 the Brooklyn Supreme Court will begin hearings on whether the actions of the DOB are justified. Additionally we will be selling photographs and paintings as a fundraiser at artezn. We are attempting to raise funds to save the building and develop it in a way that will help the community. In selling our art work we are hoping to make Broken Angel a permanent art installation and fixture of Brooklyn.

The full text of the update is available here. There's also a big flickr set that offers wonderful photos of Broken Angel. Jotham Sederstrom has an article in today's Daily News about the art sale, which includes some amazing pieces. Hopefully, a lot of people will be interested enough in the work that it will make a difference with the fundraising effort. Something tells us that in 20 or 30 years, when Broken Angel is a national landmark and Mr. Wood's art is recognized for its genius, that his art will be very valuable.

Artezn is at 444 Atlantic Avenue. While there are lovely Broken Angel photos selling for around $50, there are also paintings ranging in price from $6,000 to $60,000. Arthur Wood has created thousands since the 1950s.